CHICAGO – Former Chicago Alderman Ed Vrdolyak once again faces imprisonment, this time being accused of tax evasion and impending the IRS in a newly-released indictment handed down earlier this month.
The 19-page document points to Illinois’ lawsuit against tobacco companies 20 years ago, saying an unnamed person agreed to pay Vrdolyak $65 million from the lawsuit in 1999, even though Vrdolyak “did no work.”
Vrdolyak faces a maximum of eight years in prison.
“We are very much saddened to see this. It’s a very old matter,” Vrdolyak’s attorney, Michael Monico, said Tuesday. The former alderman “is approaching 78 years of age and there is no loss at all. And it just surprises us that the government saw fit to bring this case.”
In 2009, Vrdolyak was found guilty of associating with Stuart Levine's fraud scheme, and served 10 months in prison and 10 months of home confinement and work release.
His attorney said Vrdolyak will plead not guilty in a federal courtroom Nov. 22.
